Company documents for overseas client onboarding

A company search can identify registered shareholders and directors. Your review also needs to establish who ultimately controls the business and who may act for it. Select the client’s country and your firm’s regulatory scope to see the records to request and the questions to follow up.

Select the client and firm

The client’s country determines where its company records are held. Your firm’s jurisdiction and activity determine which due-diligence rules apply.

Use the country of incorporation, even if the client trades elsewhere.
Select the business carrying out the review. UAE mainland, DIFC and ADGM have separate options.
Also regulated in Kenya?
Match your licence and activity. The scope below identifies the services covered.

Client: Kenya · Your firm: Hong Kong · banks

Company documents for Kenya

BRS company extracts list shareholders and holdings, directors, capital and charges. CR12 and CR13 are separate company and business-name searches.

Regulatory scope: Banks and other HKMA Authorized Institutions. These checks summarise selected provisions of the May 2023 AML/CFT Guideline. Apply them with later applicable circulars and your bank’s procedures, including when the client is incorporated overseas.

Regulatory sources for Hong Kong · banks

Cited requirements link to the relevant provisions. Entries without a verified rule provide practical document suggestions; confirm the rules for your licence before using them as a checklist.

1Confirm the company exists

Regulatory requirement

Obtain the company’s legal name, incorporation date and place, registration number, registered office and principal business address. Use reliable, independent evidence to verify its name, legal form, current existence and governing powers.

HKMA paras 4.3.6–4.3.7

Registry evidence

  • Compare the registered name, number, incorporation date and address with the application. Read the date of the information as well as the date you received it.

Follow-up checks

Request incorporation and constitutional documents where the extract leaves those points unanswered. Resolve differences between the application and the registry before relying on either record.

2Identify the owners and controllers

Regulatory requirement

Identify the people who ultimately own or control more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, as well as anyone exercising ultimate control over management. Take reasonable measures to verify their identities. Where no person meets the guideline’s beneficial-owner definition, identify the relevant senior managing officials and take reasonable measures to verify their identities.

HKMA paras 4.4.6 and 4.4.9

Registry evidence

  • Lists recorded shareholders and their holdings. A company named as a shareholder is another ownership layer to investigate.

Follow-up checks

Compare the client’s ownership chart with shareholder records for each company in the chain. Ask about recent transfers, nominee holdings and voting agreements that could change who controls the client.

More about ownership records in Kenya

The Company Register Extract lists shareholder names and holdings, directors, capital and charges. BRS's company and business-name official-search outputs are CR12 and CR13 respectively.

If the company reports a share transfer missing from the extract, request the updated register of members and transfer documents directly from the company.

3Check who can act for the company

Regulatory requirement

Verify each representative’s authority using a board resolution or similar written authorisation.

HKMA para 4.5.4

Registry evidence

  • Lists the recorded directors and their roles. Compare these with the people named in the proposed mandate.

Follow-up checks

Read the account mandate: who may open the account, who may give instructions, and whether signatures must be joint. A director’s appointment alone does not answer those questions.

4Understand the business and the proposed relationship

Regulatory requirement

Understand the company’s business, why it needs the relationship and how it intends to use it. The depth of these enquiries should reflect the risk.

HKMA para 4.6.1

Follow-up checks

Ask why the company needs the account, its expected payment volumes and the countries and counterparties involved. Request contracts, invoices or licences where they help explain the proposed activity.

5Verify the relevant individuals

Regulatory requirement

Verify the identity of each person acting for the client. The guideline gives national identity cards and valid travel documents as examples of evidence for individuals; beneficial-owner verification is covered in the ownership check above.

HKMA paras 4.3.2–4.3.3 and 4.5.2–4.5.3

Follow-up checks

Collect the relevant identity evidence through your bank’s accepted process. A name in the company extract helps identify whom to check; it does not verify the person presenting themselves to the bank.

6Assess the risks

Regulatory requirement

Apply enhanced due diligence to high-risk relationships. Where the customer or a beneficial owner is a non-Hong Kong politically exposed person, the cited rule requires senior management approval and reasonable measures to establish source of wealth and source of funds.

HKMA paras 4.9.1–4.9.3 and 4.9.10

Registry evidence

  • Includes mortgage and charge information. Review relevant entries to understand the company’s secured borrowing; the extract is not a credit assessment or screening result.

Follow-up checks

Screen the company and relevant people under your bank’s procedures. Investigate possible matches and unexplained funding, and record the evidence and approvals supporting the decision.

7Keep the file up to date

Regulatory requirement

Review customer due diligence regularly and when relevant changes occur. Review high-risk customers at least annually.

HKMA paras 5.2–5.3

Registry evidence

  • Compare a fresh extract with the previous one for changes to directors and shareholders. Ask the client to explain any differences.

Follow-up checks

Ask what has changed in ownership, authorised representatives and account activity. Keep the revised mandate, supporting records and reasons for your decision alongside transaction monitoring and the required retention records.

Request company records

Email agent@fill-easy.com with the company’s legal name, registration number, country and required records. We’ll confirm availability, price and expected turnaround. Collect the client’s mandate and business explanations directly.

See an example document request
Kenya document catalogue · 1 record

Kenya records and contents

Review the contents and sample before requesting this record.

1 of 1 document products

Kenya: available records and the information they contain
DocumentWhat it shows and when to use itSource and contents
Company Register ExtractCommon starting recordView sample

Lists the company’s registration details, directors, shareholder names and holdings, and mortgage and charge information.

Use when: Opening a file on a Kenyan company or checking changes to its registered details and direct shareholders.

BRS offers the CR12 official search for private limited companies. Confirm that the requested record covers the client’s legal form. Use its information date when checking later transfers; obtain signing authority and evidence of ultimate ownership separately.

BRS: official search for private limited companies

Business Registration Service (BRS)

What’s included (12 fields)
  • Company Name
  • Unique Identifier
  • Date of Incorporation
  • Registered Office Address
  • Authorized Capital
  • Share Information
  • Mortgages and Charges
  • Director Name
  • Director Position
  • Director Nationality
  • Shareholder Name
  • Ownership Volume

Product information checked 14 October 2026. Confirm availability, access conditions and turnaround when requesting a record.

Company records by country

Find registry document guides and local registry references.

104 of 104 countries

Country record coverage and onboarding references
CountryRecordsAvailabilityFurther reading
Argentina ARAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Armenia AMAsia1 productManual retrieval
Australia AUOceania6 productsAutomated retrieval
Austria ATEurope3 productsManual retrieval
Bahamas BSAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Bahrain BHMiddle East2 productsManual retrieval
Belgium BEEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Bermuda BMAmericas3 productsAutomated retrieval
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba BQAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Bosnia and Herzegovina BAEurope3 productsManual retrieval
Botswana BWAfrica2 productsManual retrieval
Brazil BRAmericas2 productsManual retrieval
British Virgin Islands VGAmericas3 productsManual retrieval
Bulgaria BGEurope1 productManual retrieval
Cambodia KHAsia1 productManual retrieval
Canada CAAmericas4 productsManual retrieval
Canary Islands ICEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Cayman Islands KYAmericas7 productsAutomated retrieval
Chile CLAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Cook Islands CKOceania1 productManual retrieval
Croatia HREurope2 productsManual retrieval
Curaçao CWAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Cyprus CYEurope1 productManual retrieval
Czech Republic CZEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Denmark DKEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Egypt EGAfrica3 reference recordsConfirm availability
Estonia EEEurope3 productsManual retrieval
Faroe Islands FOEurope1 productManual retrieval
Finland FIEurope3 productsManual retrieval
France FREurope6 productsManual retrieval
Georgia GEAsia1 productManual retrieval
Germany DEEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Greece GREurope1 productManual retrieval
Guernsey GGEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Hong Kong HKAsia156 productsAutomated retrieval
Hungary HUEurope1 productManual retrieval
Iceland ISEurope4 productsManual retrieval
India INAsia21 productsAutomated retrieval
Indonesia IDAsia2 productsAutomated retrieval
Ireland IEEurope4 productsManual retrieval
Isle of Man IMEurope6 productsManual retrieval
Israel ILMiddle East1 productManual retrieval
Italy ITEurope1 productManual retrieval
Jamaica JMAmericas1 productManual retrieval
Japan JPAsia2 productsManual retrieval
Jersey JEEurope3 productsManual retrieval
Kazakhstan KZAsia1 productManual retrieval
Kenya KEAfrica1 productManual retrieval
Kyrgyzstan KGAsia1 productManual retrieval
Laos LAAsia1 productManual retrieval
Latvia LVEurope1 productManual retrieval
Liechtenstein LIEurope1 productManual retrieval
Lithuania LTEurope1 productManual retrieval
Luxembourg LUEurope1 productManual retrieval
Macau MOAsia1 productManual retrieval
Mainland China CNAsia2 productsAutomated retrieval
Malaysia MYAsia18 productsAutomated retrieval
Maldives MVAsia1 productManual retrieval
Malta MTEurope1 productManual retrieval
Marshall Islands MHOceania1 productManual retrieval
Mauritius MUAfrica1 productManual retrieval
Mexico MXLatin America5 reference recordsConfirm availability
Moldova MDEurope1 productManual retrieval
Monaco MCEurope1 productManual retrieval
Mongolia MNAsia1 productManual retrieval
Morocco MAAfrica3 productsManual retrieval
Myanmar MMAsia1 productManual retrieval
Netherlands NLEurope1 productManual retrieval
New Zealand NZOceania8 productsManual retrieval
Nigeria NGAfrica1 productManual retrieval
Niue NUOceania3 productsManual retrieval
North Macedonia MKEurope1 productManual retrieval
Norway NOEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Oman OMMiddle East3 reference recordsConfirm availability
Papua New Guinea PGOceania1 productManual retrieval
Philippines PHAsia7 productsAutomated retrieval
Poland PLEurope1 productManual retrieval
Portugal PTEurope1 productManual retrieval
Qatar QAMiddle East1 productManual retrieval
Romania ROEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Russia RUEurope1 productManual retrieval
Samoa WSOceania1 productManual retrieval
Saudi Arabia SAMiddle East1 productManual retrieval
Serbia RSEurope1 productManual retrieval
Seychelles SCOffshore centres6 reference recordsConfirm availability
Singapore SGAsia12 productsManual retrieval
Slovakia SKEurope1 productManual retrieval
Slovenia SIEurope1 productManual retrieval
Solomon Islands SBOceania1 productManual retrieval
South Africa ZAAfrica1 productManual retrieval
South Korea KRAsia3 productsManual retrieval
Spain ESEurope2 productsManual retrieval
Sweden SEEurope6 productsManual retrieval
Switzerland CHEurope1 productManual retrieval
Taiwan TWAsia1 productManual retrieval
Tanzania TZAfrica1 productManual retrieval
Thailand THAsia6 productsManual retrieval
Turkey TREurope1 productManual retrieval
United Arab Emirates AEMiddle East1 productManual retrieval
United Kingdom GBEurope26 productsAutomated retrieval
United States USAmericas52 productsManual retrieval
Vanuatu VUOceania2 productsManual retrieval
Vietnam VNAsia2 productsManual retrieval
Virgin Islands (U.S.) VIAmericas1 productManual retrieval

Document coverage and sources

Document descriptions come from Fill Easy’s country coverage documentation, checked on 14 October 2026. Regulatory summaries link to the provisions they describe. A recommended record supports a particular enquiry; your firm decides whether the evidence is sufficient for the client.

Document products and country coverage (opens in a new tab) · CorpVerify documentation (opens in a new tab) · Regional verification guides